Winemaker Notes
The name of this wine, "30", references the gradient slope of the vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So expressive and so precise, this is a great modern Cornas. Haunting nose of black forest berries with notes of dry forest floor and wild herbs. Then comes the wonderful combination of restrained richness and youthful freshness on the vertical, medium-bodied palate. And just as the coolness of evening follows the heat of the day, the mineral vibrancy of the finish follows the succulence of the mid-palate.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the wines from bottle, rocking levels of blackberries, smoked earth, and crushed stone emerge from the 2022 Cornas Granit 30, which is shockingly dark and gamey for a 2022, which tend to be more perfumed and almost red-fruited. It has lots of tannins as well, but terrific mid-palate depth and ample texture.
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Wine Spectator
A stylish Cornas, with its rough edges well-tamed. Salty and savory, this leads with earthy cigar box and warm stone notes overlaying an attractive core of brambly red fruit and mesquite smoke. Tannins are present but have a glossy feel (for the appellation). Warm earth lines the finish, with plenty of focus and freshness. Drink now through 2040. 200 cases imported.
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Vinous
The 2022 Cornas Granit 30 offers savory notes of dried meat, cedar, blackberry, black cherry and a hint of iodine. Medium-bodied and well-structured, the 2022 is lean and elegant. This is a classy Cornas that brims with character.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Distinguished as a fine Syrah producing zone since the 18th century, Cornas, like Cote Rotie, is made up of vineyards covering steep and hard-to-work, granite terraces. As a result the region’s wines fell out of favor during the mid 20th century when the global market was more focused on bulk wines and vineyards that yielded high quantities. It wasn’t until the 1980s when a group of energetic young winemakers reestablished the integrity of these precipitous terraces and also began making an ultra-modern style of Syrah. The new style didn’t need a decade before it was drinkable and could reach the consumer faster than the region’s traditional wines. Given the new quality coming out of the zone, its popularity once again soared and today a good Cornas can easily challenge many of those from Hermitage. Characteristics of Syrah from Cornas include teeth-staining flavors of blackberry jam, plum, pepper, violets, smoked game, charcoal, chalk dust and smoke.